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The Oldest Bridge In The World

The Oldest Bridge In The World
The ancient Sumerian city of
Girsu, located approximately midway between the modern cities of Baghdad
and Basrah, in southern Iraq, is one of the earliest known cities of
the world. At least five thousand years old, Girsu became the capital of
the Lagash kingdom, a sacred metropolis devoted to the Sumerian heroic
god Ningirsu, and continued to be its religious center after political
power had shifted to the city of Lagash. It was at Girsu that evidence
of Sumerian civilization was first discovered in the form of thousands
of cuneiform tablets with records of economic, administrative and
commercial matters of the city. Over fifty years of excavations of this
mega archeological site has brought to light some of the most important
monuments of Sumerian art and architecture, including a 4,000-year old
bridge built of baked brick, which is the oldest bridge discovered in
the world to date.Aerial view of the Bridge of Girsu. Photo credit: British Museum
Girsu
was first excavated by a team of French archeologists in 1877, which
was unfortunate, because the site was excavated too early before modern
techniques of excavation and preservation had been invented. The French
were also not very keen to follow protocol and paid little attention to
preserving architectural remains. Treasure hunters then looted large
quantities of tablets and other artifacts and sold them to collectors.
It is estimated that between 35,000 to 40,000 tablets were looted from
Girsu and subsequently appeared on the market, as opposed to only 4,000
tablets excavated by the French.
The Bridge of Girsu was first
discovered in the 1920s. At that time it was variously interpreted as a
temple, dam and water regulator. It was only recently that the structure
was identified as a bridge over an ancient waterway. Since the
excavation nearly a century ago, the bridge has remained open and
exposed to the elements, with no effort made at conservation or plans to
manage the site.
Girsu’s modern Arabic name is Tello, and this
site is currently being used by the British Museum, with funding from
the UK government, to train Iraqi archaeologists in cultural heritage
management and practical fieldwork skills. According to a recent
announcement made by the museum, restoring the 4,000-year-old bridge
will be part of the training program.
Photo credit: British Museum
Photo credit: IRAQesque/Twitter
Photo credit: IRAQesque/Twitter
via TYWKIWDBI

The Oldest Bridge In The World
Reviewed by photofun4ucom
on
June 21, 2018
Rating: 5